Life After Bankruptcy

Miami Law and Business AttorneyJanuary 4, 2014Aaron Resnick

Filing for bankruptcy is a nerve racking process. After the bankruptcy has been finalized by your bankruptcy attorneys, it is time to figure out how to move on with your life. First, you will need to begin to rebuild good credit, but you also need to address the issues that led to you needing to file bankruptcy. You may have also recently dealt with foreclosure and had to move. The best thing you can do to make moving on easier must be done before you even file. Make sure you hire a experienced Bankruptcy Law Firm to file the paper work for you. A good bankruptcy attorney will make the bankruptcy process as smooth as possible which will in turn make life after bankruptcy easier.

The first step after bankruptcy will be trying to rebuild your good credit and your good name. Poor post bankruptcy credit can affect many aspects of your life. Some employers check credit and might not hire you with a recent bankruptcy on your credit. Also, trying to buy a car if yours fails will be very difficult. You will be forced to pay higher interest rates when you are able to borrow money because lenders see you as a higher risk. First, use a free credit report service to check your credit report. Make sure all of your debts that should have been discharged through your bankruptcy are listed as “included in bankruptcy”. If there are debts that should have been included, contact your bankruptcy lawyer. Made sure you check all three of your free credit reports for errors. After you are satisfied that your reports are accurate, you need to start building positive credit to bring up your credit score. The easiest way to do this is with a secured credit card. You will give the credit card company a few hundred dollars to hold as collateral. In exchange you will receive an equal credit limit. This is not the same as a prepaid credit card, you will still have to pay off your monthly balance. These cards will normally have high interest rates and a yearly fee, so try not to carry a balance. If you pay off the balance in full each month and make sure to pay on time you will see your credit score go up!

The only way to avoid filing bankruptcy again is to figure out how you got into such financial trouble in the first place. Perhaps you were injured and the medical bills quickly piled up. In that case there was probably little you could do. However, if you were overspending you should contact a debt relief agency and ask about credit counseling that can help you learn to budget better. You need to take an honest look at your financial life so that you can move forward and build wealth, not end up in bankruptcy again.

Bankruptcy is a complicated process that should only be filed with the help of Bankruptcy Law Firms. If you live in Florida, contact a lawyer with experience in Bankruptcy in Miami.